"Yeah, Betty"

"Hey Alice, would you like some jam with your pancake?"

"Yaaaaaah, Betty!"

So, um, I had no idea where Alice came up with this odd little expression until this morning when Bobby finally heard it in context. He laughed and reminded me that I often have an odd little expression of my own, "Yaaaaaah, baby" (pronounced "beh-bee"). I laughed a long time over that one...how can my own oddities be so foreign to me?

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Alice has also been known to throw bad guys into a "cave." I think this is because I've thrown bad guys into a "cage" and she hasn't had much experience with cages yet. Caves are found in lots of stories.

She's exploring her "bad guy" feelings these days. She likes to have "fights" with imaginary swords and guns, but only as long as you don't fight back and you stay in the cave she locks you in. Alternatively, she will play that both of you are bad guys (on the same team) and you run around the house fighting imaginary things.

Another favorite activity of hers is acting out books/stories we've read together.

One of MY favorite games with her is picking her brain for ideas. At the chalkboard, or telling stories, or acting things out, I'll ask her how she would fix this problem or handle that situation. I love to hear her answers because they're usually quite practical. I can also ask her things like, "What would you like to give so-and-so for his/her birthday?" and she'll actually come up with good ideas. It's usually something homemade and almost always something to play with.

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I was prepping the garden beds yesterday while Alice was puttering around the lawn with sticks and leaves and imaginary games. She would come over every couple of minutes to "help" me (i.e. collect pebbles, pull leaves out of the beds, gather handfuls of dessicated rabbit poop, scare spiders away) and ask me all sorts of things. I realized at that moment that I actually enjoy this little personality inextricably intertmingled with my life. The thought occurred to me (for the first time) that I may find myself a little lonely when she's away at school. I then remembered a little revelation my sister shared with me about her youngest child starting Kindergarten. My sister thought she would suddenly have all this time and freedom, but it turns out that her work and responsibilities hadn't changed much since school started...she was just doing it all alone now. I sensed the change was bittersweet for her. That surprised me. A lot. My sister is not the sentimental type.

So, with that insight, I find myself re-evaluating some of my attitudes/assumptions about at-home motherhood. Perhaps Alice's presence at home doesn't actually keep me from completing my work or pursuing my interests as much as I allow myself to think it does. Of course, she's only one child. It's not too difficult to flex my schedule around one child's needs. More children will make it more challenging, of course, but not impossible. Certainly not forever.

Next spring, Alice will probably be in school when I prep the garden beds. Zurg will be the one crawling/walking/puttering around the backyard getting into rabbit poop and scaring spiders. I look forward to that :)